Share this article
Matthew Long: The UK’s Crypto Gatekeeper
Under Long, the Financial Conduct Authority has been slow to approve crypto firms operating in the UK. Impending new rules may change that, however.
Updated Dec 11, 2024, 3:23 p.m. Published Dec 10, 2024, 2:42 p.m.
If the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the gateway for crypto firms to operate in the U.K., then Matthew Long holds the key. As the FCA's director of payments and digital assets, Long has overseen a strict regime that requires firms to follow anti-money laundering rules, resulting in only four crypto firms being approved to do business in the country in 2024. Overall, 48 firms have been approved out of the 365 that have applied.
And the regulator's power is only set to increase. Long, who leads policy development for the crypto sector, held a series of roundtables earlier this year on the U.K.'s incoming crypto regime and the FCA also said that it intends to release a series of papers to gather industry thoughts on stablecoins, trading platforms, staking and more, with the intention of firming up final rules for the sector by 2026.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Long will thus be building an even bigger gate with more permissions and a whole new authorization regime, leaving the industry waiting outside, wondering if they will be able to get in.
This profile is part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2024 package. For all of this year's nominees, click here.
Sizin için daha fazlası
Bilinmesi gerekenler:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Sizin için daha fazlası
Canadian Province Wins Forfeiture of $1M QuadrigaCX Co-Founder's Cash & Gold via Default Judgment
The ruling transfers cash, gold bars, watches, and jewelry seized from a CIBC safety deposit box and bank account into government hands after Patryn did not defend the case.
Bilinmesi gerekenler:
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia has forfeited $1 million in cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder, Michael Patryn, to the government.
- Patryn did not contest the forfeiture, which involved 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and over $250,000 in cash seized under an Unexplained Wealth Order.
- The forfeiture may lead to a process determining if any assets can be directed to QuadrigaCX's creditors, who received 13 cents on the dollar in the bankruptcy settlement.
Top Stories
